Local Health Forum: Exploring the chronic disease service gaps in South Western Sydney

SWSPHN invites you to attend an upcoming Local Health Forum. We look forward to welcoming community members and healthcare providers to give valuable feedback to help us understand the challenges and issues for people managing their chronic disease or for people caring for someone with chronic disease. These forums will be held in Bankstown, Liverpool, Campbelltown, and in the Southern Highlands.

What is the focus of the health forum?

The focus of the upcoming Local Health Forums is chronic diseases, those that go on for a long time and often don't go away completely, which are among the most common and costly health problems.

We often know how to keep them from happening by making changes in our lifestyle – such as eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, avoiding smoking - but what we don't know is what local gaps exist in the treatment and management of chronic disease.

Examples of sickness or chronic diseases people live with for long periods, possibly a lifetime, are heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and arthritis. One in two Australians have at least one chronic disease and almost two in five adults have two or more chronic conditions.

Local Health Forum Report

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Local Health Forum in February 2023.

These forums provided community members the opportunity to share valuable feedback on the challenges and issues for people managing chronic disease.

The feedback we received during these events helped us to inform the SWSPHN Health Needs Assessment, which explores the priorities, service needs and gaps within the region.

2023 Local Health Forum Report - Chronic Disease